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Official OGBoards Cycling Thread

WhatUTalkinBout Willis said:
How'd you do? I've done a few long rides up in that area this year and there's some real work to be done up there.
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Great day....my longest ride ever by many accounts: mileage, time, vertical feet climbing.

I struggle with events that require the HR to be elevated early....and that's exactly what happens at BSG on Schull's Mill Rd. The climb begins at about mile 3 and goes for a solid 8-9 miles. For me personally, it's really a tough way to start. By mile 40 I was miserable, but then got a bit stronger after mile 55 or so. Around mile 62 is Snake Mountain, which is very burly with some nasty switchbacks towards the summit. It was windy and cool at the top, followed by a screaming fast descent (my buddy hit 55 mph). While Snake Mtn is the most talked about climb, the work is far from over. George's Gap is nasty (mile 80ish) and the final climb, Mast Gap, is also testy.

Our local cycling group here in W-S all got some new kits and they made their debut at BSG. We looked like we knew what we were doing ;) All 10 of us finished together, which was very, very gratifying.

All in all, it was a great, great day. Oh....and the weather was a big help. It was overcast all day, so it never got too hot.

If any of you want some early AM riding, our group (named 0530) rides most mornings from 5 pts.

6 hrs, 34 mins
 
Tour de France peddles off in 24 hours. And starts in England! First time in my memory they did this.
 
Deaconblue said:
Tour de France peddles off in 24 hours. And starts in England! First time in my memory they did this.
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I was in York yesterday, the second city on the tour after Leeds, I think, and the city was really getting into it. Yellow-painted bicycles on every shop window, bicycle posters everywhere, everyone talking about it. Wiggins is out, which is pretty disappointing for them, but he's not fit and probably not surprised he's not on the team.
 
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This is the 4th time the Tour has been in the UK, most recently was 2007 when the Grand Depart was in London.
 
47km into my ride along the Danube yesterday, about to head back into Vienna.

IMG_20140727_161300.jpg
 
Pretty. And damn I love your bike.
 
lbE08 said:
Pretty. And damn I love your bike.
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It's funny, I love it when I'm riding fast - but it's such a racing machine that you can easily see why the market for "endurance" bicycles has boomed in the last few years. Riding a really tuned racing machine is a bit like a few hours on a thoroughbred horse - it's exhilarating, but not nearly as comfortable as riding the trusty trail horse (so twitchy, so stiff, such a forward riding position, etc). As I get older, my steel bike gets a lot more miles on it. Maybe 60/40 split now - if I'm not riding fast or in a pack, it's probably the steel one I'm jumping on.
 
my wife is looking for a new bike. she has a vintage peugot she uses to get around the city, but she wants something for her work commute (5 miles each way, she currently sues her old bike) and longer weekend rides. she rode these 2 this weekend:

http://road-bikes.findthebest.com/l/2004/2013-Bianchi-Brava

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/avail.3/14849/66156/

she liked them about the same from a riding perspective and prefers the look of the bianchi (duh). anything else at this price point that people would suggest? i think the steel bianchi would be a great entry level bike that would last a lifetime even if the components arent as good. thoughts?
 
What's wrong with the Peugot? Too heavy? Need some work?
 
both. it needs a few hundred bucks worth of work to get it ready for longer rides. needs essentially an entire rebuild. so shes going to keep it for city/lock-up situations and wants a new one for longer rides/commuting.
 
you're right in that the components aren't awesome - but with where you are, that triple crank might be nicer to her on the hills.
if you're maintaining the bike and keeping it indoors, there's no reason the cheaper components shouldn't last a good long while.

there are a ton of bikes out there for ~$1000, and all are going to be pretty similar for what she's looking to do (ie: not race). of those two and without flooding you with other options, i'd go with the bianchi because of the chromoly frame and the aesthetic appeal.
 
sweet. that was my thinking as well. we have the storage that if she loves it and decides she wants to really upgrade she could use that on the day-to-day and then upgrade for long rides. i also think the steel could be used for touring as well if we decide to do that.
 
you can also upgrade the components on the bianchi over time, but like leebs said, if you treat it well, the stock components should hold up for a couple thousand miles
 
deacphan said:
sweet. that was my thinking as well. we have the storage that if she loves it and decides she wants to really upgrade she could use that on the day-to-day and then upgrade for long rides. i also think the steel could be used for touring as well if we decide to do that.
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yep, the steel should be able to take racks/bags without issue - just a matter of having the attachment points.
 
A friend of mine had the freakiest biking accident lately. She was zipping along on a long ride when her tires somehow lined up exactly with an expansion joint in the road. The expansion joint grabbed the tires and the bike stopped instantly. She went flying over the handlebars and essentially landed on the side of her face. Miraculously, she didn't break anything. Ended up with bad road rash in lots of places and a bad concussion.

The worst part was that it knocked her out of training for several weeks and forced her to drop out of a full Ironman she had signed up for - it was to be her first at that distance and I am not sure she will feel like ever training for another one. She is very down about it...

The bike stayed standing up and it took 3 people to pull it loose from the expansion joints. Weird!
 
scooter84 said:
A friend of mine had the freakiest biking accident lately. She was zipping along on a long ride when her tires somehow lined up exactly with an expansion joint in the road. The expansion joint grabbed the tires and the bike stopped instantly. She went flying over the handlebars and essentially landed on the side of her face. Miraculously, she didn't break anything. Ended up with bad road rash in lots of places and a bad concussion.

The worst part was that it knocked her out of training for several weeks and forced her to drop out of a full Ironman she had signed up for - it was to be her first at that distance and I am not sure she will feel like ever training for another one. She is very down about it...

The bike stayed standing up and it took 3 people to pull it loose from the expansion joints. Weird!
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ugh, glad she's relatively alright but that definitely sucks about her race. cracks and such like that are no joke - potholes are bad, train tracks are bad, expansion joints/seams in pavement are bad, etc. it's a 'constant vigilance' kind of sport, for sure. again, glad she's more or less ok.
 
My dad got his tires caught in a storm grate that was covered up by debris and went her the handle bars once. He was training for his first ironman. Completely trashed his wheel, shredded his jersey, and road rash everywhere and bad bruising.

He had to hitchhike back home, but ultimately ended up getting back on the bike and completed 3 iron man races before having to hang it up due to a back injury.
 
Yeah, I flipped my bars over a wrinkle in the pavement last summer and then I fell in cyclocross more times than I can count. Part of it.
 
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The newly installed trolley rails on H St NE here are apparently causing a ton of bike accidents. I ride on H quite a bit and haven't had an issue, but I'm also keenly aware that the tracks are there.
 
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